Living in the city has always been more expensive. How do Canadian cities compare with the rest of the world?
Demographia has recently published their 9th annual housing affordability survey that looked across 337 markets including Canada. In regards to the results of the Canadian cities, Vancouver ranked second overall only to Hong Kong while Toronto and Montréal were areas of particular concern.
Demographia categorized housing affordability by virtue of a “median multiple” which is in essence the median house price divided by gross tax annual median house income. The ratings and median multiple are below. As a point of reference, Canada’s median multiple 3.6, compared to the rating of 3.5 last year.
- Affordable = Median multiple 3.0 and under
- Moderately unaffordable = Median multiple of 3.1 to 4.0
- Seriously unaffordable = Median multiple of 4.1 to 5.0
- Severely unaffordable = Median multiple of 5.1 and over
Before you take your first step towards buying a home, it is important to determine what you can afford and then decide which mortgage type works best for you. Here are some of the basic mortgage terms you need to know: Types of mortgages, amortization period, interest rates…
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